How Is Solar Energy Stored?

Solar energy is energy that comes directly from the Sun. This energy drives the climate and weather and supports virtually all life on earth. Heat and light from the sun, along with solar based resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account the most of the available flow of renewable energy.
Solar energy technologies harness the sun’s energy for practical ends. These technologies date from the time of the early Greeks. Solar power is used synonymously with solar energy or more specifically to refer to the conversion of sunlight into electricity. This can be done either through the photovoltaic effect or by heating a transfer fluid to produce steam to run a generator.
The solar electric systems work on photovoltaic principle. The heart of the system is the solar cell. The single crystal silicon solar cells convert solar energy directly to electricity. This electricity then charges the battery through a battery charger. The electrical energy thus stored in the battery is then utilized through inverter (DC to AC) or converter (DC to DC) for variouks purposes such as lighting, pumping and running of the TV.
A simple PV system is like any other electrical power generating device except that the equipment used is different from that used in conventional electromechanical generating systems. The principles of operation and interfacing with other electrical systems remain the same and are guided by a well established body of electrical codes and standards. The main systems distributed in the field are streetlights, domestic lights, water pumps, lanterns, electrical fencing, battery charger and village lighting systems. It is always better if these systems are used without battery storage unless it is a must.
Solar Thermal Energy
The energy from the Sun when converted into thermal energy is called solar thermal energy. Its applications are water heating, air heating, desalination, generation of power etc. We can change the sunlight directly to electricity using solar cells. Solar cells are called photovoltaic cvells – or PV cells for short – and can be found on many small appliances like calculators and even on spacecraft.
When the sunlight strikes the solar cell, electrons (red circles) are knocked loose. They move towards the treated front surface. An electron imbalance is created between them. When the two surfaces are joined by a connector, like a wire, a current of electricity occurs between the negative and positive sides.